Sara

 

“Hey, where did Alek go so soon?” Alexa asked as she walked toward me, her eyes looking all around our small space.

All I could do was stare at the door, wishing he didn’t have to leave. “He had to go.”

She exhaled a quick whistle which caught my attention. “You’re one lucky girl, Sara. That man is unbelievable. How did you get his attention? Share your secret with me. Please. I beg of you.” Her laughing was covered by the sound of clinking dishes. Alexa was always scurrying around for something to eat, but for the life of me, I had no idea where she put it.

“I really don’t know, to tell you the truth. He came into the shop one day and has been showing up ever since.” A small smile tickled my lips, the mere thought of him too much to contain any sort of straight face.

“Well, you’re super lucky. And I’m not ashamed to tell you I’m jealous, you lucky bitch.” I laughed at her outburst as I made my way toward my bedroom to gather laundry.

~~~~

The rest of my day flew by, but not quick enough to keep my thoughts from reverting back to Alek every couple minutes or so. I found it hard to concentrate on anything Alexa said, not even feeling a little guilty about it either.

We ended up hanging out and watching Vertigo, an old Hitchcock movie, but I couldn’t fully concentrate on that, either. My thoughts kept creeping back to the feel of his hands on me, of his perfect mouth covering mine and his enthralling smell which would forever draw me to him.

I went to bed a few hours later, my thoughts still wrapped around him and wondering when I would see him again. I didn’t like the feeling of desperation, but I was powerless to control it.

Part of me wanted to escape the desire growing inside me for him. Another part wanted to throw caution to the wind, along with my emotional well-being. Just go for it, I tried to convince myself. Ride out whatever this is until he undoubtedly loses interest. Not a good way to think, but it was inevitable. Right?

~~~~

As I lie here, tied up and unable to move, my panic overwhelms me. The more I inhale the air in the room, the more I’m suffocated with the awful smell surrounding me. I’m bathed in complete darkness, so terrified my body is frozen in fear, the deafening silence almost too much to bear. As I focus on the sounds of my shallow breaths, I hear it—the frightening sound which tells me he’s near. The creaking stair means the man who has altered my world is descending in order to get to me.

I wait.

And wait.

But nothing.

The sound stops, the silence pounding in my ears until a scream gurgles deep in my throat, threatening its escape as I continue to lie here in my own despair.

As my pulse slows, I feel it.

A cold hand caresses my cheek, and before I can allow my scream to tear through me, his fingers circle my throat, tightening his grip until I feel faint. Dizziness takes over until I slip deep down into the bliss of unconsciousness.

Clutching at my throat, I shot up in bed, sweat coating my entire body. Why is this dream threatening me again? The faint light from the bathroom crept under my door, allowing my vision to adjust to the darkness quicker than normal. My eyes roamed around the room until I deemed there was no imminent danger. I was safe. My breathing slowed to normal, my heart following suit. When I laid down, fully calm, I tried to fall back asleep, praying my nightmares wouldn’t return for another visit.

~~~~

My alarm blared into the silence of my room at seven o’clock the next morning. Although I’d planned on getting an early start, my dreams had kept me up most of the night. Turning toward the offensive noise, I clicked the off button and laid there, my smile so big I knew it was going to be a good day.

I was going to tell Katherine the good news, even though she told me all along everything would work out.

For the both of us.

I arrived at the shop a half hour before we opened. Katherine had already given me a set of keys, so I set about getting ready for the expected busy day.

Matt was the first to arrive after me, which wasn’t unusual—always the early bird and all that. At first glance, he looked tired, dark bags hiding underneath his eyes. Actually, he looked like shit the closer I moved toward him, but I wasn’t about to call him on how disheveled he looked.

“Hey, Matt. How was your weekend? Do anything exciting?” I asked as I prepared the order slips for the day.

“Not too much, just hung out with some friends. You know, grabbed something to eat and had a few drinks.” Snatching his water bottle off the counter, he tore off the cap and drank half of it in a few long gulps. “I had a good time but nothing crazy to rehash.” Somehow, I doubt that. “How about you?” he questioned, finishing his drink.

An instant blush crept over my cheeks at the memory of Alek. I wouldn’t go into any details with Matt, even though he was my dear friend. “No, nothing too exciting here, either.”

We exchanged guarded smiles and returned to getting ready for the day’s work.

A half hour later, Pete came in. Katherine wouldn’t be there until the afternoon due to a few appointments, so I guessed I’d have to wait to share the good news for a little while longer.

I almost blurted out my excitement to Matt a few times but ultimately kept my mouth shut.

“Pete, do you know how many deliveries we have today? I think I’m missing a slip or two. Do you see anything back there?” I called from the front of the store. The shop was on the smaller size, so I didn’t have to raise my voice too much for him to hear me back in the prep room.

 “Yeah, there’s three slips back here. I took them since I was going to deliver them first. Sorry about that.”

“No worries, just glad you found them.”

Katherine made sure to have all of the arrangements made up before she left on Saturday. I really don’t know what I’m going to do without her expertise. But I guess it’s time for me to start learning as much as I can while I still have full access to her brilliant, artful mind.

Thankfully the hours passed by quickly, taking us a little past lunchtime. I wouldn’t have even known what time it was except my stomach decided to make the loudest noises ever.

“Little hungry, are you?” Matt teased as he walked past me, smiling then going on about his business.

I was freaking starving. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to bring something to eat. In my excitement to get there, I didn’t even think about it.

As I was about to call in an order, Katherine came walking into the shop carrying a bag full of takeout.

“Anyone hungry?” she called out.

Saliva instantly coated my tongue, the aroma wafting through the air. “Oh, my God, you are such a lifesaver. I’m beyond starving.” Hastily grabbing the bags, I ripped one of them open and grabbed the first thing I saw. The wrapper from a turkey panini was no match for me. The sandwich was hanging from my mouth as I made my way to the tiny break room.

Matt and Katherine laughed at me as I put the other bags down, rounding the table to take one of the two empty seats.

“Looks like I arrived just in time,” she joked as she removed a salad. Matt was chomping away on a turkey club, a satisfied grin on his face with each swallow he took.

“Yeah, I’m famished today for some reason.” After taking a few swigs of my water, I decided it was as good a time as any to spread my good news. It was perfect since we were all together. “Oh, hey, guess what?”

Instead of saying anything, both of them looked over in my direction, brows raised and waiting for me to spill it.

 “I got the loan!” I exclaimed, my lunch fully finished and tossed in the trash.

“That’s fantastic news, Sara!” they chimed in together. I knew it wasn’t a shock to either of them, but their excitement was genuine.

“I’m thrilled for you, honey, and rest assured, I won’t go until you’re comfortable running everything. You know I wouldn’t leave you high and dry.” Her nurturing smile put my sudden nerves at ease. I was really going to miss seeing her every day, when the time came for her to leave.

“I really appreciate it, Katherine. More than you know.”

She reached over and patted my hand before making her way toward the prep room.

As Matt and I were getting ready to go back to work, I heard the bell ring above the front door, indicating someone had walked into the shop.

“I’ll take care of them, Matt,” I said, knowing full well he would rather work in the back than deal with the customers. He wasn’t anti-social by any means; he simply preferred the quiet over the constant chit chat from the people who stopped in.

Coming down the hallway, I stopped short as soon as I saw who was leaning against the coolers. I’d just been with him the day before, yet the effect he had on me was as if I was seeing him for the very first time.

His presence was simply mesmerizing.

He looked super yummy in a beautiful dark blue suit. His stark white dress shirt a nice compromise to the all-over dark color; his grey-blue striped tie brought the whole outfit together.

My God, he was beyond sexy. I didn’t know how he was able to walk out in public without getting mobbed by women. Oh, why did I have to go there? He probably was mobbed by horny women everywhere he went. I instantly felt jealous, all over fictional bitches clamoring and vying for his attention.

His movement pushed me out of my own head. Walking toward me, his heated gaze made me dizzy roving over me from head to toe. Slowly. When his beautiful green eyes came to rest on my face, it was then he chose to speak, his sultry voice washing over me like a dream.

“How are you, Sara?”

Great, now you’re here.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted out, not even considering how rude my question was.

He didn’t bat an eyelash. “I stopped by on my way to a meeting to remind you about the install later today. They’re coming at seven. Who’s going to be there, you or Alexa?”

How many damn times is he going to remind me about the install? “I’ll be home by then, so it’s not a problem.”       

Before we could continue our conversation, Katherine joined us in the front of the store, Matt following behind with a large arrangement in his hands.

Alek smiled in Katherine’s direction but when his eyes landed on Matt, his expression faltered, becoming somewhat rigid. He didn’t like my friend. It was written all over his face. I knew it didn’t have anything to do with Matt personally, instead having everything to do with me. Or whatever relationship he thought we had. Little did he know he had nothing to be worried about, my dear friend preferring the company of men to women. But it wasn’t my place to tell his business, so until I deemed it pertinent, I was keeping my mouth shut.

The awkward silence was stifling. I’d lost all sense of manners, staring at my friends and totally ignoring Alek. When another minute passed, he reached out his hand and introduced himself to Katherine first.

Real smooth, Sara.

 “I’m Alek Devera, a friend of Sara’s. Nice to meet you.” Smiling at the old woman was going to surely cause her to faint right in front of all of us.

I saw her visibly falter as she held his palm in hers, thinking God knew what. “Hello, Alek. Pleasure to meet you. I’m Katherine,” she said before taking a step to the side and pointing at the other man in the room with us. “And this is Matt.”

The two men shook hands, eyeing each other up before releasing their grip. Alek was clearly sizing up his competition, Matt returning his scrutiny. I think I was the only one who realized what was happening, all the more reason I was becoming very uncomfortable.

“So tell me, Alek. How do you know our Sara?” Katherine questioned, clearly interested in the new man in my life, even if she thought he was only a friend.

“I came into the shop last week and have been lucky enough to hang out with this beautiful woman a few times since then.” Short and to the point.

“I see.” Katherine’s sudden curtness had me knitting my brow in confusion.

As if he sensed something wasn’t quite right, Alek politely excused himself. “Well, I should be going now before I’m late. Nice to meet you all.” He turned toward me and asked, “Sara, can you please walk me out?”

It wasn’t a request.

I moved toward him and he instinctively gripped my elbow, helping to usher me from the shop. I normally would have taken his actions as possessive but truth be told, I didn’t mind—not from him. I was thrilled each and every time he thought to touch me, even in the most innocent of ways.

Once outside, he escorted me further down the sidewalk, away from the big window of the store.

Figuring we were in a more private spot, away from any potential roving eyes, he stepped closer. “I’ll call you later tonight.” It was all he said before he leaned down and kissed me. It was a simple, soft kiss at first, but the longer his lips covered mine, the more sensual the entanglement became. He started invading my mouth, searching for my tongue to entertain his own. Our display was not fit for public consumption, but I didn’t care. Any reservations I would have had completely disappeared with every stroke of his kiss, every graze of his lips and every breath we shared.

Raising his hand to grip the back of my neck, he accidentally, or purposely, grazed the side of my breast. The look on his face gave nothing away, but it didn’t matter; he was going to drive me crazy, right there in the middle of the sidewalk in broad daylight.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss, leaving me wanting more. I was sure it was his intention all along. His gaze lingered on my mouth until he eventually connected with my eyes.

He was grinning. Big.

“Are you happy with yourself?” I panted breathlessly.

“Why, yes, I am.” He was still smirking as he walked toward his car.

Katherine was patiently waiting for me when I finally made my way back inside. I was unknowingly running my fingers across my lips when I saw her, staring at me with a questioning look in her eyes.

“What?” I asked, baffled by the expression on her face.

 “Honey, do you know who that is?”

“Yeah, Alek Devera.” Hello? You just met him.

“How do you really know him?” I wasn’t sure I knew exactly what she was asking me, my impatience for this whole dance quickly irking me.

“I met him when he came into the shop, just like he mentioned. I’ve run into him a few times since then.” I didn’t get into any of the specifics with her; I wanted to keep those private. Plus, I didn’t even know where to begin or how to explain our encounters.

Coming out from behind the counter, Katherine took a few steps until she was standing beside me. The look on her face was shock mixed with wariness. “He is the Alek Devera. He owns half of Seattle and then some.”

“Yeah, I found out all that yesterday.” There wasn’t much more to say other than that.

“Be careful, honey. He has quite the reputation, and I would hate for you to be swept off your feet, blindsided by his charm, and of course those looks of his. But then again, who could resist that face?” she said, more to herself than to me. “Oh, if only I was about forty years younger…” She trailed off as the corners of her lips turned up, meeting her eyes immediately.

Her outburst had us both laughing, and it felt good to release some of the tension which had been building since he’d walked through the door.

         “But seriously, be careful with him.”

         “I will. We’re only friends anyway, so it’s no big deal,” I lied. I wanted to protect my secret a little while longer.